Sunday, 28 July 2013

My manifesto for living a happy life

By
Nila Sweeney

I give up craving for approval, knowing that those who give it can also
take it away on a whim. By placing my self-worth and
happiness at the mercy of others, I became unnecessarily needy
and despondent when I don’t get my fix.

I know now that the only way I can truly be happy is to do the things that I love and that makes a difference to others. I shall no longer be a hostage to other people's opinions.

I give up being a coward,knowing that
I am stronger than I give myself credit for. Being afraid of taking chances has
cost me some of the biggest misses in my life. I’ve wasted precious time that I
can never take back and opportunities that may not be repeated due to my
cowardice.

Having survived the things that I went through earlier in life, I know I
have what it takes to thrive. It’s now time to liberate myself from the self-limiting
fear and open myself to life and everything it offers.

I give up being a perfectionist,knowing
that making mistakes is a part of being human and the best way to learn life’s
lessons.

By being a perfectionist, I've alienated even my closest allies due to my unreasonable demands. I realised I've only been seeing what’s wrong and never
what’s done right. It’s time for me to start appreciating people even more.

I give up being judgemental, knowing that I, too, have many
flaws. Being judgemental has made me suspicious and distrustful of others. It also gave me permission to blame them for being
the way they are.

People don't get any chance with me when I’m judgemental. Even before
they make the first move, I’ve already diminished their worth in my head, justifying my choice of avoiding them altogether.

Therefore, I shall stop judging people, and instead
spend time getting to know them on a deeper level. I know I would be pleasantly
surprised with what I discover.

I give up procrastinating,knowing that I am wasting
precious time and not accomplishing the things I set out to do. If I’m really
honest about it, I’m procrastinating because I’m afraid to take action. It’s time to let go of my excuses and
start acting. The time for procrastination is over. It's time to take that leap.